A Heart for Pumping Red and Blue
by Dazela
Summary: Before she knew her duty as Dragonborn, she was simply Siila Marcelius, love child of an Imperial noble and Bosmer maid. Her journey drags her through a life of refinement to one of Skyrim blood, blue, red and all in betweens.
1. Siila Marcelius

**Chapter 1: Siila Marcelius**

Anredehl hiked her rosy silk gown up to her calves as she twirled up the spiral staircase leading to the west wing tower. She peeked out the small blue windows and into the orange colored sky that bled through the grey of First Seed clouds. The night was approaching swiftly and her daughter hadn't made an appearance since lunchtime. Praying to Mara under her breath, she hoped this was the last place she had to look.

"Siila, darling it's time to stop playing. The guests will arrive soon after night falls." the Bosmer called up the towers roof hatch. She sighed in relief when a faint grumble drifted down the open hatch. "Don't you want to help me frost the cake?"

The stubborn girl sat on the red clay tiles of the tower roof. A soft breeze ruffled the peach colored hair her mother had so desperately attempted to brush.

"Siila Marcelius!" Anredehl shouted louder through the whistles of wind. "Come down here now."

"I'm not coming down. There is no way in Oblivion that I will spend another evening with them while they stare at me and whisper behind my back." Siila huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. The young girl gazed out across the river behind her house. If the setting sun hadn't been shining so bright, the trees of Valenwood would have been visible sprouts on the rolling hills. If only she could fly away and-

"Don't speak like that, Siila. If you don't come down, I'll have to get your father and you know how stressed he is." Anredehl, who considered herself to be a reasonable woman, was beginning to lose her patience. She prided herself on her ability to stay calm, except in the times when _they _visited. At the moment, the main reason of her stress teetered on her husband's shoulder's: ex-wives and in-laws made for nasty business.

Siila poked her small head through the hatch, brown doe eyes wide in panic. Thin strands of soft orange hair dangled about her face. "Don't call father! I'm here!"

Anredehl guided her seven year old daughter down from the tower roof before the young Bosmer hopped out of her embrace. "Siila look at your hair!" Anredehl plucked up a fly-away strand and shook her head. "Don't you know how long it took to brush out all the tangles? Why, if your father saw you-"

"No!" the child clutched her mothers legs. "He is going to yell at me like last time. Don't tell father, please!"

Anredehl chuckled and smoothed her daughters hair down. She bent down to face Siila and patted her cheek with a soft hand. "I won't tell if you run to your room and put on the dress your father brought back from High Rock. Right now."

Siila crinkled her nose before her mother turned her around and sent her off with a slap on the rear. The older Bosmer, now alone, approached the towers railing and stared out into the Cyrodiil sunset that poured over the Strid River. At least she understood why her daughter chose this as a hiding spot.

* * *

"Anredehl, tell me love, does this appear ... presentable?"

The elf looked up from her mirror and set her rouge brush down on the vanity. Her husband stood at his mirror across the bedroom, switching angles every few seconds. Droplets of sweat clung to his forehead, reflecting the branches of flame in the fireplace. Anredehl chuckled in her seat. "Cosulus, my dear, your buttons aren't even aligned." She stood from the velvet stool and walked to meet her husband who shakily moved to meet her in front of the fireplace. His hands fumbled in a vain attempt to unbutton his blue brocade doublet. "Look at me." She whispered, taking his sweaty hands in hers.

"You mustn't worry about these things. It has been years in the past." Anredehl worked his buttons to their correct positions and kissed her husbands hands.

The Imperial kissed her forehead, inhaling the lavender scent of her almond brown hair and looking for comfort in her golden speckled brown eyes. "It's her glare, her rotten glare. The same cold stare she gave me the day of our wedding."

"Are you talking about your mother or Penelia?"

"Both." Cosulus sighed as he returned to the full length mirror and combed his shaggy peach hair. He whispered worries at his reflection, drawing a chuckle from his wife's lips as she applied a thin layer of rose colored lipstick. "I think I fright more to see them than I do when the Thalmor visit."  
A rythmed knock on the door brought Anredehl to her feet once again. She took a quick glance in the vanity mirror, securing the braids that wrapped around her head and swiping a loose speck of dark kohl off her cheek.

"Siila is waiting in the kitchen, Madam Marcelius." A plump and elderly Breton announced as the woman opened the thick wooden door.

"Yes, Claudette. I'll be down in a few minutes. Please make sure she doesn't poke holes in the cake." The Bosmer hung a white shawl in the nook of each elbow and scurried to her husband once again.  
Anredehl cupped her hands around her husbands face and planted a delicate kiss on his chapped lips. "We have each other and our little Siila. Let that give you some strength through dinner."

"As long as you remain by my side, I will be in good company." Cosulus smiled as he watched his wife close the door behind her.

* * *

In the kitchen, little Siila threw knives into the larder doors and cast fire from a dusty broom. "Away you scamp, you vermin, you- you smelly beast!"

"Child, No! Please, watch the cake!" Claudette raced on her stumpy legs to catch the flying broom across the room. The tiny elf scurried across the kitchen and plucked up a rolling pin and chopping board. She turned to face her opponent, crashing her weapons against one another.

"Back you Daedroth!" Siila howled. "I forbid your presence in this realm!"

"Siila, please settle down! You might hurt yourself!" Claudette scuttled after the elf like a mudcrab chasing a rabbit The nimble Bosmer rolled underneath a table and jumped onto a nearby chair, throwing her hands to the ceiling above and letting her sword and shield fall to the floor.

"I fear you not, spawn of the Deadlands, For I-I am the Champion of Cyrodiil. I have looked into the endless pit of Oblivion and laughed!" The tiny elf shook with passion before leaping to the ground with an ungraceful crash.

"Oh dear, it looks like your father has let you into his library again." Anredehl laughed from the doorway.

"I'm sorry ma'am! I thought I locked the knife drawer." Claudette attempted to smooth the nest of gray hair on her head. Her stretched and ragged dress drooped dangerously low about her bosom, drawing a snort from the young girl on the floor.

"Don't worry Claudette. I know exactly how she got inside." The Bosmer shot her daughter an all to knowing glance as she stepped down onto the marble floor of the kitchen. Anredehl hoped that her daughter's discovery of lockpicks wouldn't come about for another few years, but no thanks to her ferocious appetite for stories, she had caught her daughter picking at the laboratory door on more than one occasion

"Siila, no more games. Go wash your hands and come help me frost the cake."

"Mother, they aren't dirty!" The little elf squealed. Her mother glared at her, patience toeing a thin line.  
Siila shuffled to the wash basin and shook the flour from her sapphire blue dress before her mother could notice.

"With soap, Siila."

The young elf propped herself on a high stool as her mother twirled around the kitchen gathering ingredients for her decorations. A little sugar in this bowl, a splash of orange juice over there. Siila swiped a glob of incompletely stirred frosting that dangled off the edge of the bowl when she thought her mother was distracted. a bubble of sugar burst in her mouth and dissolved on her tongue.

The young wood elf watched in hypnosis as her mother smoothed the white icing over three layers of golden brown cake. Her mother's eyes hardly blinked as she piped delicate floral patterns around it's edges. She handed Siila a single purple flower, which was placed directly in the center of the smallest layer.

"What was that in between them?" Siila piped, pointing at a bowl of leftover purple on the table.

"It's lavender and wine flavored." Claudette spoke from her spot in the corner. "Your mother gave me the recipe. She truly is the best baker I have ever met." The Breton added with an eager nod.

"I'll never be as good as you, Mama."the girl pouted, reaching for a purple coated spoon.

"Not unless you apply yourself,my sweet I've had years of practice." The corners of Anredehl's mouth curled as she finished the last of the decorations. "Done." She whispered, bending over to kiss Siila's forehead.

"Darling, I have something for you." Anredehl bent her knees to meet her daughters face. From the minute amount of cleavage, she withdrew a twinkling amulet.

Siila turned the item over in her tiny hands. The golden amulet resembled a cross made of two separate pieces; one with flared horizontal arms and one with tapered vertical ends. The contours of the latter held slight resemblance to a dagger. Diamonds sparkled across the center and Siila traced the engravings on the back. _Marcelius._

"It looks so new." She whispered in awe.

"It isn't. Your grandmother gave it to your father when he came of age to marry."

"Then why didn't he give it to his first wife. or Penelia?"  
Anredehl giggled and straightened her daughters dress. "Why don't you ask him, little one? Go on to the foyer now and sit with your father. They will be arriving any minute."

Siila raced through the dining room and past the great living room fireplace. Her slippers echoed through the large rooms as they bleated across the polished wooden floor. "Papa! Look what Mama gave me today. Look!"

Cosulus whipped his head around just in time to see his young daughter leap onto his lap with a glowing smile. She settled herself on his legs and brought the amulet to his face.

"She said Atia gave it to you but you didn't give it to your first wife or Penelia after that. That means we are special, doesn't it?"

Cosulus let his shoulders relax as he let out a much-needed laugh. "Yes, Siilie. Yes, you and your mother are the most special people I have ever had the joy of calling my own." He ran his fingers through Siila's hair, the same color as his own. Cosulus cupped his hands around Siila's and brought the golden necklace closer to their faces.

"Why didn't you give it to Penelia? She had two of your daughters. Won't Atia be mad if I wear it?"

"Don't call her Atia, Siilie. She is your grandmother."

"But she told me not to call her that." The Bosmer cocked her head

"That was years ago."

"It was last Frostfall, Pa."

Cosulus gathered Siila's shoulder length hair in one hand and slipped the amulet around her neck. After her disastrous "experiment" in her mothers alchemy lab, almost half a foot of hair was chopped off to remain any shred of evenness.

"I didn't give it to Nubia or Penelia because it didn't belong to them. It belongs to those who I love." He smiled, kissing his daughters hands.

* * *

After the first hour of dinner, Siila's mouth numbed from the strain of smiling so much. Her back was murdering her through her attempts at sitting straight. If her chair allowed it, she would be bending over backwards.

"Napkin." Claudette whispered as she set a bowl of radish salad on the table.  
The tiny Bosmer used her foot to fish around beneath the table for the fallen napkin. A sandy blonde imperial several years older than Siila curled her lips in a slight snarl as she stared at the Bosmer desperately trying to kick her napkin toward a reaching hand.

Atia and Cosulus sat at opposite ends of the table. Atia glared through her deep wrinkles, chewing each mouthful as though she might choke on a spoonful of mashed potato. Her icy stares bounced between Cosulus and his wife, every now and then dropping to little Siila and her sparkly new amulet. Upon their greeting, Atia actually gasped at the sight of it against the tan skin of her granddaughters chest.

"Lielle, aren't you hungry?" Penelia, equally as blonde as her oldest daughter, asked before sipping her wine.

"I can't say I am." Lielle sighed, pushing her plate away from her. "I just don't seem to have much of an appetite." The blonde imperial toyed with a corkscrew curl that dangled from its ponytail. She gave a sideways glance towards her sister, Renesia, who shoveled another spoonful of mashed potato into her mouth.

"Well, I'm sure you'll change your mind when we bring out dessert. Siila and I made it earlier today." Anredehl said with a smile, gently dabbing at the corners of her mouth.  
Lielle wrinkled her nose.

"What kind of cake!" Renesia asked through a mouthful of radish salad.

"Renesia! We talked about this!" Lielle shrieked at her plump sister. The younger girl shriveled in her chair and tucked a strand of orange hair behind her ear.

"It's Vanilla." Anredehl answered her, avoiding the older girl's constipated face.

"And there's a lavender filling!" Siila chimed inbetween desperate stabs and slashes at her steak.

"What was it that you discussed, Lielle?" Cosulus inquired , looking up from his plate of venison.

"Nothing, Father." The imperial lowered her head. A faint blush rose to her cheeks while she pushed onion and squash around on her plate.

"What did she tell you, Renesia?" Cosulus asked his second oldest daughter.

Lielle gasped and whipped her head to her younger sister. Renesia's large blue eyes widened even more as panic overtook her young and plump body. She glanced at her sister.

"No." Lielle mouthed and shook her head, blonde curls twirling around her face.

"Renesia, answer your father." Penelia commanded.

"Lielle told me- she told me not to eat anything because the Bosmers like to serve people for dinner."

Siila's eyes shot up from her butchered steak while her father dropped his fork with a loud clang. Anredehl and Penelia both gasped in unison and for a few moments the room was silent save for the crackle of oak in the fireplace and patter of First Seed sprinkles.  
Atia's cackle echoed throughout the room like that of a Hagraven.

"Lielle!" Her mother huffed. "How dare you! Anredehl I-"

"I didn't say it! I didn't!" Lielle sobbed through her sapphire eyes. Renesia watched through forkfuls of venison as Lielle patted her eyes on the sleeves of her dress.

"And where on Nirn would she have heard something like that, Penelia?" Anredehl stood from the table, mouth pursed in a tight bud.

Cosulus rose from his chair to escort his mother to the back porch for air in fear that she would faint from lack of oxygen.

* * *

Red velvet engulfed Siila's body as she rested on her father's lounging chair in front of the fireplace. Rawlith, her faithful companion, laid at the foot of her chair underneath her dangling feet. Siila savored her slice of pity cake and nudged Rawlith whenever his snores became too loud. If she chewed slow enough, she could hear her parents argument in the hallway.

"I can't-I- Cosulus, please. Don't make me sit through that again. Don't make our daughter have to sit through such... she's too young." Anredehl sniffled into her husbands nightshirt and wiped her tears with his sleeve.

"Siila doesn't even know what Lielle meant. You mustn't take it so harsh. The girl is only ten."

"Don't use that as an excuse." The Bosmer narrowed her eyes at the man. "Lielle is only going to get nastier because nobody tells her what is wrong. And your mother! Surely you will not overlook that."

Cosulus wrapped his arms around Anredehl's slender frame. "My mother is old and set in her ways. She-She can not accept my decisions."

"Cosulus, please! It is one thing that she can not accept me, but Siila? The girl is only seven, she doesn't deserve that treatment. " Anredehl pulled away from her husbands embrace. "Listen to me, Cosulus." Her voice sharpened. "You're lucky to be from noble blood. You're lucky that you're family pledged it's allegiance to the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. You have never faced the cruelty of those who despise your race. For Mara's sake, I will not have Siila surrounded by such bigotry. The next time you bring them over, we- we will be out."

Siila swallowed a spoonful of frosting as her mother stormed off down the hall. Her angry footsteps echoed off the wooden walls as Cosulus called out after her. Rawlith awoke from his slumber and raised his black and white head at the interrupting noises.

"Siila?" came a hushed voice from the living room doorway.

The young Bosmer peered over the back rest of the chair and shook her head. "Why is mama so upset?"

Cosulus shook his head and leaned against the doorway. "Not everyone can see the beauty in others, darling. It... saddens your mother." The imperial ran his hands down his cheeks, twisting the wild strands of orange hair that hung about his chin. "Darling, could you go up to your bedroom now? I need some space to think."

Siila nodded her head and slid off the chair. "Come, Rawlith." She patted behind her leg as she walked to her father and squeezed his legs good night.

Cosulus shuffled to his arm chair and released a long sigh as he sunk into its plush velvet. On his right side table, a half eaten slice of cake called to him.

"Hmm, pity cake." He chuckled.


	2. Dolls and Princesses

**Chapter 2: Dolls and Princesses**

Siila gagged at her reflection in the mirror. An emerald dress imprisoned her body in stiff billowing layers. She turned to face each angle of her cupcake like dress and swore she could taste the apple pudding she had eaten for breakfast making a nauseating reappearance. Her mother sat on the bed behind her and combed her hair into a slender hand. Gods, how she hated Sundas.

"Ouch! Mother stop!" Siila cried through watering eyes.

"Siila, quiet down please. If you combed your hair more often, this would not be an issue."

Siila squeezed her eyes and grimaced through the tugs of her now reddening scalp. She dreaded Sundas class like a cat dreaded water. Mrs. Lido was all chatter and spanking. Who in their right mind didn't know how to sip a bloody cup of tea? Apparently Siila, for with every little slurp came a little whip of the Redguard woman's "etiquette stick."

"There!" Anredehl smiled proudly as she tied a satin ribbon around her daughters bun. "And Mrs. Calidia should be waiting in the living room."

"Who?" Siila asked while rubbing her inflamed head. "What happened to Haffir?"

"Mrs. Lido. You are to address elders with respect. Remember?" Anredehl stood to her feet and smoothed her cream colored gown. "Her husband's Talos worship was discovered by an agent of the Thalmor."

The young Bosmer stared at her mother with confused almond eyes. "His Talos worship?"

"Mrs. Lido will not be teaching you anymore."

"Oh."

"Go quietly, Siila. Your father is with guests."

The young girl nodded before her mother reached out for her arm and pulled her back.

"Siila remember what we said: there is no 'Champion of Cyrodiil' when the Thalmor are in our home, no talk of Hammerfell, no questions. Just smile, Darling."

Siila nodded once more and skipped down the marble staircase, white slippers clopping with each hop like that of a mountain goat. She scurried past the meeting room where haughty Altmer voices drifted beneath the door. Before entering the arch of the living room, she cleared her throat and smiled like her mother advised. A mahogany haired woman sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

"Good morning, madam." She said with a bow before internally slapping herself. Ladies were supposed to curtsy.

"Oh, hello." The young imperial turned to face the doorway before catching glimpse of Siila and turning her gaze back to the paintings on the living room wall.

Siila stood frozen in her spot. She tried to remember her next action from the long list of proper etiquette and greeting but came up with only blank answers. The young elf wrung her hands and slowly approached the woman. "Madam." she repeated.

"I am waiting for Miss Siila Marcelius. I'm sure she will be down any minute." The woman's dark brown eyes avoided Siila's. She continued to let her gaze wander around the book shelves and candles on the fireplace mantle.

"Mrs. Calidia?" Siila asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I am Mrs. Calidia. Unless you plan on standing there gawking at me, I suggest you ask Sir Marcelius's daughter to come down for her class."

"I am she, Mrs. Calidia." the Bosmer whimpered through dry swallows.

Mrs. Calidia gasped as she finally made eye contact with her new student. Siila scrunched her face as her body stiffened with the tension that grew between the two. Blush rose to the woman's pale cheeks before she dropped her stare to the hands in her lap.

"I-I apoligize, Miss Siila."

Siila picked at her nails while she stood still in her position. Neither talked for what seemed to be the longest minute of Siila's life. She shuffled away from the tomato-faced woman and took a seat on the farthest end of the coach opposite Mrs. Calidia. The fire made the air room even warmer, choking Siila through her velvety green collar.

"Have you met my mother?" she finally spoke.

Mrs. Calidia cleared her throat. "No, I suppose I haven't."

"Well," The girl said, kicking her feet that dangled over the edge of the couch. "That makes sense."

* * *

The grey First Seed skies soon poured into Rain's Hand and sprinkled itself over the Marcelius Manor. In the stable, an older Argonian sat on small stool and hunched over the hooves of one of Cosulus Marcelius' many horses. This one, Decipher, as Cosulus had named him, was a strong dappled grey stallion that raced down in Kvatch once every month. His young daughter stood under the cover of a nearby oak and combed through the mane of of a paint colored foal.

"Nameeka, it's time to bring Kynd back to the stables." The blue skinned Argonian poked his head out through the stable opening. "Hurry, before the sky begins pouring."

"Sky, isn't that what Siila named her horse?" The Argonian child called as she pulled the horse across a patch of flowers.

"Kynd, I think it's Ayleid." Hides-In-Lakes wiped his grimy hands on brown linen pants and handed his daughter a carrot for the foal.

"Siila said I could stay to play with her new paint set." Nameeka smiled widely, revealing two rows of tiny pointed white teeth.

Hides-In-Lakes sighed and ran his hand along one of the curved horns atop his head. He knew the Marcelius family well, but their constant Thalmor company made him feel less than comfortable. "I'm sorry Nameeka, not today. Cosulus is has a meeting today."

"They hardly even see me, father. Besides, if they ask I always tell them I work in the stables. They don't say much." She fretted while Kynd's nose tickled her palm.

"I know, sweetheart, but not today. We need to get home before the rain falls." Hides-In Lakes took hold of his broken-hearted daughter's hand and led her to the old brown horse that awaited them in a nearby somnalius bush along the cobblestone road.

* * *

On the white floors of the parlor inside, Siila sprawled across the ground with her collection of wooden figurines while her mother sat in a corner with a glass of wine and book in hand.

"I dare you attack, minotaur. Swing that mace of yours and it shall be the last swing of your cursed life!" Spoke the voice of a wooden man, painted red and silver like the uniform of the legion soldiers. Siila growled as her brown minotaur wobbled its way past a white horse and trampled its wooden body. "Fight me you coward, fight me if you can!"

The creak of her father's meeting room door interrupted her legionnares attack. She whipped around to catch a glimpse of her father and the black robes of a Thalmor agent in the doorway.

"Yes, I'll have the funds deposited by tomorrow morning. Are you sure you don't want to stay for a cup of tea? A glass of wine perhaps? The loveliest box of smoked salmon arrived from Solitude just this Fridas."

"I appreciate the offer, Cosulus, but I must take my leave." The altmer removed his black glove to shake the Imperial's hand. "I have arrangements to make in the Imperial City before I depart for Skyrim. The embassy in Skyrim has decided to establish a Thalmor representative in Markarth."

"Weren't the Stormcloaks and Forsworn driven out years ago?" Cosulus inquired, shutting the door behind him and pocketing the key, much to Siila's disappointment.

"A trusted source has confirmed that punishment of Talos worship has become... lenient. I will be one of many to meet with First Emissary Elenwen before the determination of the position is solidified."

"We wish you the best of luck, Ondolemar. May the divines have mercy on those lost souls of Markath." the imperial added with a chuckle.

"Shall I have a carriage drawn for you, Ondolemar?" Anredehl spoke as she closed her book and placed it in her lap.

"Thank you, Anredehl, but that won't be necessary." The golden skinned elf approached Siila who nervously stood to her feet and curtsied.

"Miss Siila," He bowed. "I couldn't help but notice your collection the last few times I had the pleasure of meeting with your father." Siila clenched her hands and tugged at the skirt of her dress, gazing upward several feet to meet the elf's orange eyes. "I found this during a visit to Valenwood and thought you might enjoy them." Ondolemar reached into the inside of his robes and retrieved a thin box wrapped in brown paper.

Siila reached up to take the long box and brought it to her ear with a gentle shake. Anredehl widened her eyes and waved her hands to catch her daughter's attention behind the Altmer's back.

"Oh, thank you for the gift." Siila replied with a shy smile and spot of blush as she brought the box to her chest. She stared at the floor for a while, hoping that the adults would soon leave her to her games before she heard a grunt from her father.

"Must I open it now?" she whimpered.

"Please do," Ondolemar encouraged "It has traveled a long way to your hands."

Siila peeled back the thick brown paper which revealed a wooden box. She lifted up the latch to find a set of four Thalmor figurines. Two were painted in the gold of elven armor while the others were painted in the image of the mer in front of her. Perhaps one was female, but in all honesty, she could never tell underneath their hooded robes until they spoke.

Siila stood with her mouth open as she traced the outline of the golden armor. "Look at that Siilie!" Her father clucked as he bent over her soldier.

"This is too kind of you, Ondolemar. They are beautifully crafted." Anredehl said, grabbing the paper Siila absent-mindedly tossed to the floor. "I just never understood why she couldn't take to dolls and princesses."

"Mama, those aren't real. They're all dead and all the dolls look bland." The little bosmer laughed as she held a Thalmor Justicar in her tiny palm.

"I could argue against that, Siila." The tall elf replied with a soft smile and swift glance towards the older wood elf. Siila wrinkled her face in disgust while Anredehl inhaled a sharp breath and turned to lead Ondolemar to the door. Cosulus followed behind the Altmer while Siila trailed in the back, hypnotized by her wooden elf and stumbling in her toe pinching slippers.

"Ondolemar," Anredehl backed away from his suffocatingly close stance and looked up to meet his face with a spot of unintentional blush in her cheeks. "Should you ever find yourself in Cyrodiil, you know where you are welcome."

The elf nodded in the direction Of Cosulus and lifted Anredehl's hand to meet his lips.

"My friends, there are so few pleasures in life as fine as your company." And with one more smile from his full, peach lips, he drew his hood over his head and stepped into the sprinkle of the West Weald air.


	3. Imps and Slaughterfish

**Chapter 3: Imps and Slaughterfish**

Hides-In-Lakes shoveled through a pile of steaming horse dung and pulled his flimsy cap tighter onto his head. The sun caused a burn on his reflective blue scales that was not in the least bit pleasant. In a patch of flax near the small pond of the Marcelius Estate, two young girls giggled in the beam of sunlight that broke through the hemlock canopy.

"And then he kissed her hand!" Siila squealed.

"What kind of kiss?" Her Argonian friend beamed as she braided yellow flax flowers into the elf's orange locks.

"Nameeka, you dummy, it was a _hand kiss._" the elf giggled as she continued her flower chain.

"Well, I wouldn't know. You said he was a creep."

"I said he was creepy. He looks at my mother differently than he does anyone else. Like the way Rawlith looks at a piece of venison when you dangle it in front of his face." The hound perked it's ears and darted its eyes towards Siila at the mention of his name. "I tell you Nameeka, he was practically drooling."

"Hah! Like the way you look at Quintus when your mother gives him Alchemy lessons!"

"Take that back!" the Bosmer cried, wrestling her friend to the ground and throwing yellow and red flowers into the air. The two girls babbled on into the Morndas afternoon, exchanging flower circlets and picking water hyacinth by the banks of the Strid River.

"Look across the way." the Bosmer whispered, pointing to the large slope of forested land across the water. "That's Valenwood over there."

The two stood in the shade provided by the long branches of deciduous trees. The river was growing larger this time of the year, with plenty of run off from the spring rains.

"You're lying." Nameeka whispered through squinted eyes. "I don't see any Wood elves."

"It's true! I read it in a book on my last trip to the book shop. I saved the map." Siila pulled a folded up parchment out of her sleeve. Dark stains riddled the deeply wrinkled parchment. "Look, here's Skingrad."

"You stole it?" The Argonian gasped, her hands flying to the her green and pink scaled cheeks.

"I did not! My father owns the store. That makes it not stealing."

"You're father doesn't own the map!"

Siila shrugged her shoulders and turned the map to face her friend. "And here is Black Marsh."

Just the sound of the name captivated Nameeka's full attention. "That's so far away." Nameeka whispered as she clutched the maps crinkled edges. "My mother was born there, you know." the girl kicked at the dirt with her broken brown shoes. "Do you think Argonians are treated better there? Do you think we actually have a place of our own?"

"Well, you always have a place here." Siila shrugged, oblivious to the implications of her friend's soft spoken words. "Bring the map Nameeka," she chirped, kicking off her shoes and running to the rowboat that lay on the sand ,tethered to the post of a small dock. " Let's play Pirates!"

* * *

"Divines help us, Siila, not again!" Anredehl rushed to the child in the doorway. Water dripped off her daughters disheveled hair and thick black mud clung to they tiny Bosmer's legs. "Wait right there and don't step on the rug. R'ashira just washed it."

Anredehl rushed to the kitchen and retrieved an empty burlap sack. Nameeka shriveled behind the door frame and bit at her already short nails.

"I told her not to stand on the bow, Mrs. Marcellius! I truly did, honest to Stendarr I did!" The Argonian cried as Anredehl returned to the door.

"Nameeka!" Siila hissed as she wiped her soaking hair out of her face. "Shush!"

"In we go." Anredehl sighed, opening the mouth of the bag so Siila could step in. She plucked her daughter up and made her way down the hall. "Could you get the door for me, Nameeka? Siila what were you doing by the river?" The elf shook her head at her daughter as she began to climb the grand staircase.

"We were playing pirates Ma'am." Nameeka blurted out as she puffed behind the two elves, nearly tripping over the first step of stairs.

"No we weren't!" Siila quickly refuted. "We were picking flowers! Didn't we pick water hyacinths, Nameeka? Didn't we?" the elf protested with wide eyes.

"Siila, your father and I said no more pirates! Not after the slaughterfish incident in Morning Star." Anredehl narrowed her eyebrows at the elf in her arms, who in turn, narrowed her own eyes at the Argonian trailing behind.

"I'll draw a bath!" Nameeka suggested, racing ahead before Siila could begin spouting nasty words at her. That elf, she discovered, had quite the imaginative vocabulary.

"It was a mudcrab, mama." Siila rolled her eyes.

"It was both."

Anredehl plunged her daughter into the steaming bath while Nameeka left the room to search for a set of warm clothes.

Siila sunk beneath the growing bubbles. "Here comes the great slaughterfish, sneaking up on the helpless maiden" she whispered to herself.

* * *

Cosulus sighed loudly as he set his book on his lap and rubbed his eyes, weary and strained from the long day of paperwork and fine print. He lowered his head onto the goose feather pillow below him and released a much restrained yawn. After a few itch-relieving scratches, the man rolled over onto his side to gaze at his wife before blowing out the candles.

"Anredehl?" He whispered.

"Yes, husband?" the elf replied with closed eyelids.

"Why are you not asleep?"

The Bosmer opened her eyes and rolled onto her back. She toyed with the her thin brown hair, wavy from her daytime braid. She squinted her eyes into the darkness before her eyes finally adjusted enough to make out the planks on the wooden frame above her.

"I worry about Siila. She's going to hurt herself one day. Soon, I fear."

Cosulus rolled himself closer to his wife and reached up to take her hand. "She's only being a child, Anredehl. She will grow out of it."

"I- I'd like to think so, Cosulus, but I cannot. Siila has too much life within her. She is drawn to danger like a moth to flame. "

"Well, I don't suppose you'd know where she got that from?" the Imperial smirked.

Anredehl rolled to her side to face her husband. The thin strap of her nightgown slid off her shoulder before her husband reached out to stop it.

"Haven't we given her all she needs to remain happy in the comfort and safety of her home? I know she sneaks out to the forest at night. She tries to hunt imps, Cosulus, imps."

Cosulus chuckled at the thought of his 4 foot child battling imps with a stick. He often heard her sparring with trees in the misty hours of the morning while he took his tea in his study. He prided himself on harboring such a creative child. In his mind, she was a genius.

"It isn't funny! She could get hurt maybe even-"

"Shhh, Anredehl." He whispered pressing a finger to her lips. "She is only taking after her mother."

"It's not the same! I wasn't born into wealth like she was. There was nothing sheltering my family and I from the dangers lurking in the forests of Valenwood. I either fought or I died. She's just too busy, Cosulus. Maybe I could teach her alchemy or introduce her to the arcane arts. She just needs to sit down for a while."

Cosulus wrapped his arms around his wife and drew her into his chest. Her warm breath tickled his chest and caused him to release another chuckle.

"Cosulus, please." Anredehl mumbled.

"I think I may know something that would sate our little Siila's appetite."

Anredehl sighed in relief and allowed herself to melt into her husbands arms, resting her mind from her motherly worries. "As long as it doesn't involve mudcrabs."


	4. Secrets for Hiding

**Chapter 4: Secrets for Hiding**

Several sticky spider webs, each of separate origin, clung to Siila's face before she gagged and wiped them onto the damp wooden pillars of the basement. Checking every now and the to make sure her friend hadn't fallen to far behind, she carried on into the darkness clutching a small candle to guide her path. Without breaking her gaze from the object she approached at the end of the dark room, she called back to her friend, voice amplified within the thick walls. "Nameeka! I see it!"

The wood elf raced down the room, blowing her candle out in the process. The darkness didn't stop her bound as she ran face first into the thick wooden closet.

"Siila?" The argonian whispered, her voice several feet away from where Siila lay on the hard floor. "Are you okay?"

The elf pressed herself into a seated position and raised her right hand to the air, casting a white orb of light that drifted above her head. Nameeka hiked her skirt to her calves and ran quickly toward her friend, eager to escape the enveloping darkness. She gazed to the opposite end of the basement, not sure whether to pray that no one sees them or to pray for someone to come drag her out of the mess she was about to make.

Siila stood to her feet and wiped her linen leggings of the accumulated dust from her fall. Nameeka bit her nails as she watched Siila slowly pry open the closet doors, expecting at least one skeleton to come crashing down. Much to the young girl's surprise, nothing but brooms and buckets occupied the closet space. Ignoring Nameeka's pleas to return upstairs, Siila climbed into the closet, knocking several brooms to the floor, and rapped her fist against the back panel.

"See Nameeka! I told you it was here." the tiny elf leaned against the back of the closet and pressed against it with all of her 10-year-old body weight. The decaying wood cracked with a forceful push and sent Siila, once again, crashing to the floor.

"and you said I was making it all up!" The elf cried in triumph as she gazed down the narrow hall ahead of her.

Nameeka stood in awe and terror as her friend stood to her feet. "We were 7. You told me that if I swallowed watermelon seeds, they'd bloom in my belly so forgive me for not believing in you."

The Argonian shakily stepped into the closet and hopped down onto the floor of the opposite side.

The girls crept along the dark corridor for several minutes; several minutes to which both Siila and Nameeka, felt like hours for very different reasons.

"What do you suppose is at the end, Siila?" Nameeka asked, hesitant to hear the wild fantasy her friend was surely brewing.

"I bet," Siila began, standing to her feet. "That this hallway will lead us to a secret chamber. I bet my great ancestors were hiding dragon eggs."

"Dragons?" Nameeka piped, following after the more adventurous child.

"Dragons, you know harbingers of the end times?"

"I've read the stories, Siila. Dragons died out long, long ago."

The pair stopped in their tracks as they reached the end of the narrow passage. A thick wooden door, soft from age and moisture of the damp basement, stood before them. The small flare of Siila's candle light flickered in the air above her before finally extinguishing.

"Everyone has their secrets."

After the loud screech of the wooden door against stone faded into the emptiness of the newly discovered room, the two girls pressed on into the darkness.

"Siila, cast you're candle light! I cant see a thing!"

Siila raised her hand to cast a tiny orb into the air between her and her friend. The dim light barely surrounded the two of them.

"I still can't see a thing. This is why you shouldn't skip lessons" the Argonian pouted. "Let's go back upstairs. This doesn't feel right. What if your parents-"

"Look over here!" Using the wall as a guide, Siila rushed forward,drawing the small orb of light away from Nameeka who sprinted behind her to avoid the dark unknown.

"It's a torch stone." the Argonian whispered, her yellow eyes wide with worry and a small glimmer of thrill. "You don't suppose people... meet down here?"

"Who knows, Nameeka. Maybe this room is filled with secret treasure maps and chests of gold!"

"It's not like we can see anything. Can't you cast flame?"

The elf pursed her lips and brought her hand up to her face. A spark jumped from the snap of her fingers and sizzled on the floor, drawing a hearty chuckle from her friend. "I'm not a mage, Nameeka. Shut up and pass me the torch."

Nameeka gingerly lifted the broken torch from the torchstone and coughed at the rolling dust that expelled from the movement. Siila grabbed the sleeve of her cotton shirt and pulled the fabric apart at the seam. Nameeka gasped as Siila removed her sleeve and wrapped it around the head of the wooden stick.

"Did you bring the mead?" Siila asked as she tied a knot at the base of the fabric clump she created.

Nameeka quickly shook her head and pulled the torch to her chest.

"I knew you were going to chicken out." The elf lifted her torn shirt, revealing a silver flask tucked behind the waistband of her trousers. Nameeka lowered the torch once again while Siila poured a red fluid over the cloth.

"That's Argonian Bloodwine!" Nameeka protested, furrowing' the ridges of her brow bone.

"Oh quiet, you. My dad has cases and cases in the study."

It took several snaps to finally get the tiny sparks to ignite the torch, setting it ablaze in blue and orange flame.

The two girls squinted into the break of darkness as the room around them slowly grew more visible.

"Try lighting the others" Siila motioned toward the row of torchstones on the walls and pillars of the chamber. Nameeka shook her head and handed the torch to Silla who rolled her eyes and proceeded to illuminate the room.

"By the Hist!" Nameeka shrieked, prompting Siila to whirl around and drop her torch to the floor.

The room, not quite as large as either had imagined, caused both girls jaws to drop.

In the center of the large room, a cobweb covered statue peered down upon them. The man, or more accurately, warrior, stood with its foot atop a great serpent in the midst of driving it through with it's marble blade. Siila stepped toward the chiseled figurine. She swiped her finger across the defined muscles of its legs and smothered the dust between her fingers.

Silver bowls of jewels and dried flowers sat at the foot of the statue in offering. Dust covered candles melted in their holders while dried wax spilled from the dip of the top. Some white candles remained unused. At the base of the large sculpture, a blue colored shrine rested proudly against the marble altar. Careful not to touch anything, Siila bent down and squinted at the odd familiarity that brewed in the back of her mind.

"Nameeka." She whispered. "What is-."

The Argonian's swallowed a mouthful of saliva as dry as sand that dragged down her throat and scratched her esophageal walls.

"Let's leave Siila. This place hasn't had visitors in ages." Nameeka eyed the doorway they had used for entry and darted her eyes to the darkened hallway at the opposite end of the room.

Siila ignored her friends pleads and sat on her knees in front of the dusty shrine. It undoubtedly represented a dagger, driving into the stone beneath it that made up the base of the sculpture. A brass colored object rested around the horizontal arms of the shrine...

The young elf gasped, clasping her hands to her chest. With shaky fingers, she pulled the amulet from it's spot on the shrine and tucked it into her undershirt.

"Siila! We can't just take these things!"

"I know this symbol, Nameeka! I- I just-I have to show you"

Without another word, the Bosmer pulled tightly on her a friends wrist and raced down the end of the unknown hall, her friend shrieking behind. Soon, both children were stumbling and smashing one another against the soot covered walls before a small stream of yellow light broke the darkness of their surroundings. The girls fell silent.

"Siila-"

"Shh." The elf cast her small ball of candle light and slowly stepped around the perimeter of the dead end they found themselves in. A dingy wood ladder stood nailed against the side of the circular walls. Sunlight poured in a small beam from an opening in the top. Siila pulled on the handle of a thick wooden door on the opposite side of the small room. The door didn't budge

"I have to show you something ,just follow me."

Without approval from her friend, Siila climbed the ladder, hissing when the loose pieces of wood dug into her small hands. As she climbed high enough to reach into the rays of sunlight, each rung of the ladder became increasingly overrun by vines that clung to the wood and the stone walls behind them. By the time she reached the top , the ladder was no longer visible and she found herself clinging to the thickest branch of vegetation.

"Nameeka? Are you-"

"I'm coming!" The Argonians cry echoed to the bottom of the small chamber.

Nameeka joined her friend on damp soil after climbing over the small wall of stone as she reached the top of the ladder. Much to Siila's disappointment and Nameeka's comfort, they found themselves standing amongst the trees of the West Weald forest.

"Damn!" Siila cursed loudly. "There isn't anything new here at all."

"Oh no, Siila. Your mother is going to kill you! " Nameeka desperately wiped at the grey dust covering her tan skirt and brown blouse sending grimy clouds billowing into the air.

The young elf turned around to face the structure she had just climbed out of. She was greeted by the appearance of an abandoned, but otherwise ordinary well. The rope the clung to the post between the framing of the roof was frayed and a bucket lay smashed on the grass beside it. Siila peered over the edge into the newly discovered darkness before plucking up a rock and dropping it to the bottom. Nameeka cautiously bent over the side to listen for the muffled _clank_ as it hit the stone floor.

"We can't tell anyone about this." She whispered while the echo of the fallen rock drifted up to her.

"Why not?" The elf pipped in agitation. Not that she had many people to tell, but Siila simply hated restrictions.

"Siila, don't you think there is a reason why that chamber was boarded up. Things are hidden for a reason."

"Father probably doesn't even know it's there! Did you see the state of the place? No one has been in there for centuries."

"I-I have to disagree. These things are dangerous. My father... he's told me stories of people who worship deities in secret." Nameeka shyed away from her friend and wrung her hands. Siila wasn't quite sure if Argonians could blush, but if they could, she was sure that the slight darkening of Nameeka's cheeks was the equivalent.

"Deities? What are you implying Nameeka? That my family worships the Daedra?" Siila grumbled through squinted eyes.

"I didn't say that." the Argonian murmured, pressing her body against the wall of the well.

"Then what?" Siila hissed, inching her way closer to the quivering Argonian. "Nameeka, you wouldn't dare-"

"I didn't!" She shrieked. "I never said anything!"

"You know what happens to Talos worshipers! I can't believe you would suggest my family would do such a thing!"

"Siila, I promise you! I never meant it. I'm sorry-"

A rustle of dead leaves of the forest grounds around them brought them both to swift silence. The girls snapped their heads to either side, nervously anticipating the beast that wold leap upon them.

"Nameeka, " the elf whispered, barely above her breath. "Do you say we run?"

Siila received no reply. Her friend dropped to her knees and curled up behind the well.

At the first crunch of footsteps cracking twigs, Siila dropped to the ground too. A voice spoke from the clearing nearby.

"I heard you chattering away, you blasted imps."

Siila squinted her eyes, carefully calculating the tone and pitch of the unfamiliar voice. It was male, no doubt, deeper than a boy of her age but certainly not an adult. Nameeka shook besides her, yellow eyes wide in panic. Siila brought a finger up to her lips and rested her arm on her friends shoulder as the footsteps drew nearer.

"The two of you are trespassing on Valcciori property." Siila whipped her head around to face the owner of the voice. A young dark-haired boy stood before her dressed in a finely woven olive green shirt, brown leather trousers and matching boots. The boy shriveled his nose and pointed his bow uncomfortably close to the elf's face.

"There are no Valicciri here." Siila hissed, knocking the boy's bow out of her face and standing to her feet.

"That's Valcciori." the boy snarled, straightening his stance and leaning over the small elf. "Although I'm not surprised a straggling urchin would be unfamiliar to such a noble name."

"There has been no _Valcciori_ living in the West Weald either. You kid yourself, Imperial."

"Siila," Nameeka mumbled tugging on the elf's dust covered shirt. "We should be going home... now"

The boy cocked an eyebrow at the Argonian's words. "Siila? The Marcelius child? Well then the rumors are true..." A devious smile curled his mouth into a grin that made Siila's belly flop.

"You better watch what you say." Siila snapped before Nameeka, squeezed tightly around her wrist.

The young boy brought his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Apologies, Miss Marcelius. Judging from your, uh, appearance, I would never have known."

Siila watched with a curled lip as the boy bowed. Her mother had told her that in the event of meeting a new person, she was to curtsy, smile, and say something flowery and feminine like, "Good evening sir. How do you do?" but the only thing that came to her mind was to scratch at the patch of dust on her cheek.

After several minutes of awkward silence, the boy cleared his throat once more. "Silus Valcciori. We have recently returned from High Rock Our families are well acquainted, I assure you." He added a smile to the end of his greeting.

"Well, I've never heard of you."

"And whose fault is that?"

The two exchanged sharp icy stares while Nameeka's trembling grew stronger. Siila didn't like this boy. She didn't like the way he examined her torn clothing or the way his eyes crossed over the dust powdering her face. His rosy pink lips curled to much at the corner, sending prickly chills down her back. She wanted to shrink beneath his forest green stare and climb back down the dingy ladder and sit in the darkness alone.

"Is this your well?" Siila asked, motioning towards it with a lean of her head.

The boy nodded and smoothed back his long black hair. "It's on Valcciori property so it might as _well _ be."

"Hah." Siila spat. She nodded her head toward Nameeka, who stood to her feet and dropped her head before Silus met her eyes. The girls distanced themselves from the boy before Nameeka took off in full sprint through the forest. Silus watched in bewilderment as Siila backed away from the boy, her brown eyes glistening in the sunlight before turning to chase after her friend.


	5. Warpaint

**Chapter 5: Warpaint**

"Come on Siila, cut it out." Silus cried into the canopy of the dense forest as he removed an arrow from the waterskin that hung from his pack. He scanned the high tree branches for any sign of movement. _Damn that elf._ She had quite the a talent for hiding.

SIilus returned to observing the trees. He heard another arrow fly into a nearby tree with a _thunk_ and scurried off to find the spot where it landed. Silus squated at the base of the tree, squinting into the direction he most believed that Siila sat in hiding. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the plop of an apple on his head that once dangled from the branch above him. Just as he had guessed, an arrow boastfully protruded from its yellow flesh.

"Damn it Siila! this isn't funny!" The imperial shouted, smashing the apple against a rock with a forceful throw. He recoiled in brief shock as it's cool flesh splashed up on his face, which only served to further enrage him.

"Don't move," A voice whispered behind him through the stretching of sinew. "I could have you dead at my feet in one shot."

"You're not scaring anyone, rat face." The boy growled before turning around to face the source of his irritation. His face contorted at the sight of the elf, first into one of wide eyed amusement and then into pursed lips, struggling to suppress the laughter bubbling in his throat.

Siila clenched her fist as the tears brimming in Silus's eyes became apparent to her. She walked with heavy footsteps to meet him and thrust a quiver of arrows into his chest, drawing the suppressed laughter from his gut in a roaring guffaw. She traced the mud lines on her face as the boy choked back his cackles."Shut up. It's for camouflage."

"What took you so long anyway?" She hissed once Silus finished wiping his tears on the sleeve of his brown shirt. "It's almost nightfall."

Silus looked down to his waterskin and sighed as his his laughter came to an end. He drew a dagger from his belt and cut it off. "I was practicing with Decuro. You know I can't skip training. My brother would have my head." The water rushed out of the small whole created by Siila's arrow as it hit the ground. Of course, he would have to get a new one.

"And you can't shoot any straighter than before."

"Oh, well easy for you to mock the imperials Marksmen skills. Your father let you take lessons when you were ten." He watched Siila as she made her way to a moist patch of dirt and bent down to gather it in her hand. The elf smiled from her crouched position.

"That was just 3 years ago. You've been practicing with Decuro since you were 11 and you have 4 years on me."

Silus removed his pack and let it dangle by its straps from the branches of a nearby tree. He strapped his quiver onto his back and around his chest. He ruffled his black hair and inhaled the rich forest scent, finally relaxing into the crisp air. "I'm not built for a bow." He rolled his brown sleeves up and flexed the muscles of his upper arm. "I'm a man of strength. See these pups? These are made to swing a blade." He smiled and added a wink for effect.

Siila stood to her feet and wrinkled her nose at his boastful display. At least he had a little meat to back up his words. His arms were quite toned...

She snapped herself out of her trance and held out the mud she cupped in her hands. "Alright, Gaiden Shinji." Silus shook his head violently at the offer.

"You do realize we are hunting deer in a densely covered forest as nightfall approaches?" Silus double checked the laces of his leather boots and tucked them behind the thick tongue.

Siila shrugged her shoulders and slathered another layer of mud under her eyes and over the bridge of her nose. She stared directly at Silus, who watched intently as she retraced the stripe of mud down the side of her face. He cleared his throat and spit on the ground.

"Must you be so dramatic everytime we go hunting?"

"We'll see who's bringing home the deer tonight."

The two walked side by side, bow in hand and ducking under low branches and hopping over uplifted roots. Silus peered down at his side to watch as the small Bosmer's brows furrowed and eyes darted side to side, waiting for any sign of life behind the trees. In his opinion, she took hunting too seriously. She whipped her head to the right as a bird flew from it's resting place on a nearby oak. Her brown eyes widened as she caught his stare.

"What" she mouthed. The Imperial followed the lines of mud from her eyes to the bottom of her chin and shook his head. He smiled to himself and swatted a broken branch out of his way. In his opinion, Siila tried too hard to be an elf. After another minute or so of following the small hoof prints that made deep impressions in the damp soil, Silus stopped to tell Siila that it was time to split up but as he turned around, he found she was already gone.

* * *

"Maybe you should try hunting with a sword next time." The elf laughed into the night sky. Siila gripped the deer antlers and held them up to her waist as it's head bobbed in the air behind her.

Silus carried the legs of the buck around his hips. "Maybe you could drag this deer home by yourself."

"Well, I killed it didn't I?" She called back to him.

"I saw it first. I followed it all the way to the river and then you stole the kill right from beneath my nose."

"Silus, please. You practically chased it to me. You aren't entirely stealthy, you know." The elf chuckled. Her small hands were starting to numb as the wind picked up and blew gusts of cold air trough the branches and into her face. She shivered beneath the thin cotton shirt she had chosen to wear and cursed herself for spending so much time on her "war paint" and forgetting how cold Frostfall could be at night.

The two heaved the beast through the forest. Siila dragged the torso the majority of the way back, inciting many grumbles and yells from Silus and only picking it up when they passed over rocks or fallen trunks. Finally, they saw Silus's pack hanging from a tree and entered the small clearing where the small stone well crumbled in the center. They rested the deer on the ground as Silus retrieved his belongings.

"Aren't you glad we didn't bet on it?" Siila giggled, wiping away at the crumbling bits of dried mud on her face. She slumped against the well as Silus returned.

"You're a prude with your money. You won't bet at the arena or even the horse races in Kvatch." Silis joined his friend on the ground. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her in from the wind that blew around the well.

"And I don't plan to unless the yellow team gets better fighters. There is no risk when we already know the blue team will win." she beamed up at Silus. "Just like there was no point in betting when I always catch the deer!"

"My apologies Miss Siila, but I haven't been training to hunt deer."Silus flicked her nose as she laid her back against his legs.

"You haven't been training for anything. You aren't even joining the legion."

"Mother says she didn't raise her sons to be soldiers."

"That didn't stop Decuro."

"My brother has wanted to join the legion since before I was born. Not I, no."

Siila gazed up to his chin. She could already see black stubble making it's reappearance. Silus cleared his throat before continuing. Siila watched as the swallow bobbed along his neck.

"I'm going to take my father's place as head of the family business."

"You're not even the eldest. By the will of your father, Decuro will be the head of the family."

"Ah, but Decuro doesn't want it. He won't even get married until he feels he's reached a high enough rank in the legion."

"Mhm." Siila turned onto her side and secured the braid wrapped in a bun on her head.

"Besides, everyone knows my uncle can't run the business forever."

Siila watched as a long stick bug crawled ever so slowly along the dirt and into a pile of dead leaves before it disappeared from her sight. Silus picked several stray leaves out of her orange hair.

"I saw Penelia leaving your house the other day." By now Siila was flipped onto her stomach and pulling at blades of grass. "And if I remember correctly, Lielle was trailing behind her."

Silus cleared his throat again and tucked a strand of wind-ruffled hair behind his ear. "She was there."

The drop in temperature left both hunters with numbed noses and frozen pink cheeks. Siila sniffled and scratched at her nose. "Why?"

" I don't know. Mother was probably discussing marriage or having tea and sweetcake. Why does it matter, are you jealous?"

Siila pushed herself off of Silus's lap and wrinkled her nose. "Ew! I was just asking. I don't care who you marry."

Silus raised his eyebrows and grinned. "Even your elf-hating sister?"

"She's not my sister. She's a bitch." The elf stood to her feet and slid her bow back over her shoulders

"Hah!" Silus cried out. He too, stood to his feet and slipped his pack on. "I'm fairly certain she is a candidate for Decuro's marriage and not mine, mind you."

Siila shrugged. "Well, I'm never going to be the one to have to live out my days with her. My my, what a punishment."

"Gee! Ease up on the gal. She's just product of her environment. Can you blame her for hating Anredehl? She took her father away."

"Hey, that isn't an excuse! She's treated me like vermin and I don't hate all Imperials. You haven't even heard the things she says about my mum." Her face scrunched up in anger as Silus continued to chuckle.

Silus removed some yarn from his pack and crouched down to tie the buck's forelegs together. Siila bent in closer until her lips were barely away from his ear, taking extra caution as though someone might hear them in their secluded forest. "I've heard the servants whisper about what went on with Penelia and one of the guards while my father was away."

Silus's hands stopped fiddling with the knots in the string. Another devilish grin spread across his face as he shook his head to knock away several dark strands of hair. "What?"

Siila crouched across from him and took the yarn from his hands. "It's just a rumor though." Her tiny, thin fingers worked at the knot much faster than his. She handed it back to him and leaned in once more.

"Siila," Silus began, finally wraping the string around just above the buck's hooves. "does Cosulus keep a journal?"

Siila cocked her head and itched behind her ear. "I don't-"

"Think! Is there a place where one could be hidden?"

"I- His study? I don't know what he does in there but it's always locked."

Silus stood to his feet again and stretched his arms above him with a loud yawn. "Decuro says my father kept one while he was alive. He said mother hid it in the house before we moved to Highrock. Can you imagine what could be in there? Just think of all the dirty secrets."

"I don't know Silus," Siila rested her chest on her knees and rocked on her toes. "Father trusts me. I've never made him mad before."

"Then we have to be fast. He won't even find out. Think about it, Siila. Don't you want to know your parents, really know them?"

Siila couldn't wrap her head around what could possibly be so interesting about her father. He was always happy, cheerful, in love, and as of lately, he had been growing a little bit round. There was nothing more to it. She couldn't see what secrets he could hide that were worth risking his jolly demeanor.

"And I bet there would be something about Penelia." The boy added, lifting her chin to meet his green eyes. "How about it?"

Guided by Silus's hand, Siila stood to her feet and grabbed the deer's fore legs. "Fine, we'll do it. But then we have to go looking for your father's journal."

"I like the way you're thinking, rat face."


	6. Secrets for Finding

**Chapter 6: Secrets for Finding**

Nameeka paced back and forth across the wooden floor of her best friend's bedroom. Her thick cowhide shoes squeaked along the wooden panels. She wrung her scaly hands and upon making eye contact with the elf that sat in the windowsill, she drew them into her long tan sleeves and hid them away. The sun shone brightly through the window and pierced her eyes before Siila shifted in her seat and blocked out the strong rays.

"Stop being such a hatchling, Nameeka!" the elf hopped to her feet. "We need you."

The Argonian shook her head violently and took no time to respond."Mm-mm, no way Siila, not a chance in all of Mundus. Can you imagine what would happen if we get caught?"

"Nameeka, Nameeka, caaalm down." Siila reached out to stop the flailing arms but the Argonian slapped the elf's hands away and folded her arms across her chest. "You act as though there's a chance that you would be fired." Nameeka puffed through her nostrils and squinted her eyes at the Bosmer who received her stare with a glowing smile. "We both know that if my parents could adopt you, they would."

"Damn you, Siila! That isn't the point. It's a complete invasion of privacy. I bet this is all Silus's idea, isn't it?"

Siila shrugged and rolled her head to the side before plopping down on her bed. She couldn't really argue with Nameeka's ill opinions of Silus ever since they left her stranded in a tree on one specific boar chase. Nameeka had been less than eager to join their hunting sessions since then.

"I knew it. He's going to get you in so much trouble and you won't even be aware of it." Nameeka's frustration grew as she watched Siila yawn. She hated how the Bosmer tuned out whenever she expressed reason, especially when referring to the dashing troublemaker who lived across the forest. " I wouldn't be surprised if you would burn down the house for that boy!"

This caught Siila's attention as she snapped her head to face her friend. Nameeka backed away toward the door when Siila jumped to her feet, catching her balance on the bed post. "Hey, now what does that mean"

"Oh, what do you think it means!" By now, Nameeka was eager to leave the presence of her mischievous friend and put as much distance between herself and Cosulus's study as she could. Just as she heard the turning of the doorknob, a firm hand clamped down on her shoulder, drawing a squeal from her mouth.

"Good morning, Nameeks. Ready to-"

"Don't you 'Nameeks' me, Valcciori. I'm not ready to take part in whatever tom-foolery you and Siila have planned." Again, Nameeka waved her hands in the air, attempting to shoo all the ideas her friends pressed on her out of her mind.

Siila joined Silus at his side, smiling and nodding her head along with every plea the Imperial made. Nameeka returned to wringing her hands and glancing over her shoulder to the freedom that lay beyond Siila's bedroom door. Silus took her hand in his and dropped to his knees.

"Oh righteous Nameeka, most glorious of Argonian maids." The Imperial batted his long dark eyelashes as he begged. Nameeka's cheeks flushed a darker shade of green. Siila chuckled as she watched Nameeka's free hand ball into a tight fist. "Please, lend us your eyes and your ears for only a brief moment today as-"

"Alright!" She pulled her hand back to her chest. "A brief moment and that is all. I'll keep watch and if anyone comes, I'll knock but don't expect me to wait around."

Silus plucked the Nameeka from the ground and spun her in a circle. The Argonian wriggles herself free and cleared her throat as the flush of her cheeks returned.

"Don't feel so proud of yourself, Silus. A boy of your age shouldn't be spending so much of his time trying to corrupt young girls." Nameeka straightened out her pink skirt and lifted her gaze to meet him.

"Ah, mother Nameeka, I am but seventeen. I have to live it up. Besides," Silus turned to Siila and ruffled her hair, "this one is plenty corrupt already."

Nameeka rolled her eyes and ran her hands down her face. "Ten minutes. If you aren't ready in Ten minutes, count me out." With that, she left the room and continued to the window at the end of the hall where she proceeded to pray to Stendarr to take pity on both her and her friends.

* * *

The heist, as Siila had decided to label it, concluded with minimal complications. By the time the two thieves had reached for the doorknob, Nameeka had decided to take off and Siila managed to catch only a tiny glimpse of the Argonian's green tail bobbing down the marble steps. Quietly, the pair of thieves slunk down the steps. Siila clutched the leather bound journal to her chest so closely as though it were responsible for her heartbeats. She could hear the sound of footsteps drawing nearer to the base of the steps. She gasped and looked toward Silus, whose expression of horror confirmed that he heard them as well.

"Silus?" Nothing frightened Siila quite like her mother's smooth and perpetually calm voice. "I forgot to ask. Will you be staying for supper?"

Anredehl gazed up at the two from the base of the staircase. She clutched a bundle of flax flowers in one hand and rested her other hand on the railing. Slowly, she started up the steps. Silla and Silus exchanged panicked looks before he nodded towards Anredehl who smiled back and proceeded toward her alchemy lab. Without wasting anymore time, the two raced out of the house and into the woods that separated the Marcelius and Valcciori estates. Siila pressed the journal to her chest and followed close behind Silus who led them a safe enough distance from any servants working in the garden. He slumped against a tree and released a loud breath of air through his mouth. Siila stood still before him and even when he began to chuckle, she remained silent.

"What't the matter with you?" He asked once his laughing faded. Siila sat with folded legs across from him and rested the journal on the ground.

The bosmer stared deeply at the journal. Several scratches and a peculiar dark spot, most likely from a flame, marred the cover. "I feel bad."

"What! _You_ feel bad?"

"Shut up, Silus. I broke my father's trust. What if I don't even want to know his secrets?" Siila dropped her head and fiddled with the laces of her shoes.

"Alright, Siila. Why don't you go ahead and return it?"

"Fine."

Siila held the journal in her hands and turned it over a few times. It smelled like dust and the corners had been worn down to a greyish color. A stray flap of leather dangled from the back cover and loose thread sprouted from a hole on the front where a button was once sewn in. She looked up at Silus, whose eagerness danced in his green eyes. Gingerly, she lifted the front cover to reveal the yellowed pages and black ink beneath.

"It's dated 4E 169. It's the year he was married to his first wife."

"Well, that was nearly 28 years ago. What a romantic time in Cyrodiil."

Siila grazed several pages, flipping them as soon as the black inked thoughts of her father were processed.

"Hey! Atia made father divorce his first wife because she was infertile!"

"Let me see!"

Under the shade of an oak tree, Silus flipped through the old pages of secrets as Siila rested against his shoulder. She watched as several bluebirds dove through the trees and rested on branches high above her. Her eyes wandered to the clearing several feet away where the crumbled well sat in a vibrant ray of sun. She wondered if anything about the secret room would be in there. Maybe her father didn't even know. Occasionally, she would hear Silus snicker and couldn't ignore the pang of guilt she felt in her heart. Whatever secrets she was about to dig up had better have been worth it.

"Siila! I found it."

"Hmm?" Siila took the journal back into her tiny hands and squinted her eyes as her vision adjusted to the shade of the tree.

_Morndas, 6th day of Hearthfire, 4E 180  
__My dear intimate friend,__  
_

The elf reread the line several times in her head, wondering why her father chose such formal ways to address his paper. She figured he had always had bit of an extravagant side to him anyway.

_It is with a deep sadness in my heart that I must inform you of the confirmation of my suspicions. It was only today that I returned from my travel to High Rock and Penelia has announced her pregnancy. The child is not mine. Never before have I been so certain of anything. With a great heaviness and pain in my heart, I can say in certainty that I am sterile._

"What?" Siila cried with a cock of her head.

"Are you reading."

"Yes!"

_My poor Nubia, how my mother did spurn her infertility when the fault was my own._

_"_Silus this doesn't-"

"Just keep reading." Silus inched closer to the elf and rested his arm across her shoulder. He craned his neck to read along side her.

_I know not what to do. I am forty eight and far beyond my prime. My first marriage was already a failure and now what it to become of my current?_

Silus licked his index finger and turned page after page.

_Loredas, 13th day of Rain's Hand, 4E 181_

_I have married a whore! She has been sleeping with the guards! I see it now, clear as a Midyear sky. My daughter, my Lielle, has the eyes of the Breton watch guard, round and blue like sapphires. Her hair rest in the same tight curls that hide beneath his helmet. Even my mother sees that we bare no resemblance. Mara, give me strength for I feel my heart collapsing._

"Dibella's tits! What a goldmine!"

"Silus!"

Siila's mind flipped with every turn of the page. Splashes of deep black ink raced across the pages. Where did her mother fit in, where did she fit in? How could her father be-

"Slow down! You're going to rip the damn book!" Silus pulled the journal from her hands.

Siila scooted closer to Silus's side and rested her chin on his shoulder. She watched as he flipped the pages after a brief yet careful examination of the words that lay inked on the old paper. He squinted his eyes and drew the book closer to his face before releasing the strained stare and handing the book of to Siila.

_Tirdas, 14 day of Sun's Height, 4E 181_

_My love for her knows no bounds, even if I stare but from a distance,  
__My heart yearns for her sweet caress. With out it I have no means of existence__  
In eyes of the richest oaken brown, I'd lose myself in a madness of bliss  
Until she places upon my soul another delicate and warming kiss  
Oh elven queen of Valenwood, she haunts my every thought  
With a voice of honey and hair of silk, she is the love for which I've sought_

It didn't take much of a detective to recognize the subject of the poem. Turning her face into the crook of Silus's neck, Siila released an embarrassed sigh and cringed at her father's sentiment. She had read some of her father's poetry and even enjoyed them, but they were all about his travels; the beauties of exotic wilderness and bustle of busy city.

_Morndas, 10th day of Morning Star, 4E 183_

_Again, I am at a loss of thoughts to think and words to speak. Penelia has announced yet another pregnancy and I, in the midst of my overbearing sadness, revealed to her the knowledge of her affair. She denied nothing and begged me not to leaver her. Oh sweet mother Mara, forgive me! Through all my anger, I failed to mention my own liaison. That I, Cosulus Marcelius, have found love in my Bosmer servant. I have layed with her in the very bed I sleep in now and have every intention on staying with her should the Divines make me choose. Curse me! May the Gods strike me down as I write!. She is but a mere child. She says she is 25 but her fair elven skin looks no more than 16 years old and I, 51, am a monster. May the Gods have mercy on my adulterating and miserable soul. _

_Sundas, 16th day of Sun's Height 4E 183_

_Today, a great light dawn's upon me. Anredehl and I have made plans for our marriage. She is with child. At the first mention of her pregnancy, I grew irate. I demanded to know who she had been sleeping with. I yelled and threw chairs in the servants quarters. I broke tables and dishes and almost spewed cruel poisoned words from my mouth. My poor Anredehl rushed to me in tears and told me that it was impossible for the child's to be anyone's but my own. I had been her first lover. I had been wrong. I am not sterile and now, I know not what to do in regards to the unborn child within Penelia's womb. Under her own admittance, it may not even be mine. Regardless if the child is mine, I have decided that our marriage must end. Lielle has been raised as my daughter but the presence of Penelia is too much to bear when I know my love lies elsewhere. I know now that I am destined to be with Anredehl and that I shall stand by her and my child as a husband and father or shall oblivion take me._

The wind had shifted since the two children arrived in the forest. It blew the pages with force, whipping them back and forth until Siila slammed it shut in Silus's hands. She drapped herself across his legs and rested on her stomach as he set the book on her back. The breeze calmed in brief intervals, blowing the elf's orange hair against Silus's blue shirt. They sat in uncomfortable silence, occasionally opening their mouths to speak until the wind picked up and silenced them once more. Siila folded her arms in front of her and stared into the moist dirt below. Nothing she learned in the journal was entirely new. Except for her father's assumption that he was sterile but she figured that he was always rather self-conscious, especially recently as his skin began to wrinkle in deep grooves along his forehead. Both herself and Silus had made the decision that Lielle looked nothing like Cosulus and figured that Penelia had to have been sleeping around. She smirked to herself, anticipating the day she might be able to slip the fact through. A small chuckle escaped her lips. Silus lifted his head from it's resting lace against the tree.

"Satisfied?" He asked, weaving his hand through her hair.

"Indeed, I am."


	7. Secrets for Keeping

_**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who has been reading! I'm always open to suggestions, critique, and of course comments. Please feel free to ask a question or drop a review. They are most welcome. **Pixie91's question: **__Yes it is the same Siila. Her story is now completely different and to be honest, I had no idea where that story was going but this one has more direction. I'm probably going to work the writing from "my cure and my poison" in as well, but that is for later._

* * *

**Chapter 7: Secrets for Keeping**

Taking extra caution to avoid Nameeka's grueling stare, Siila and Silus made their way back up to Cosulus's study. Siila loved her father's private work room. What she loved most, she figured, was the feeling of sneaking into the forbidden. While he was away for business, she frequently picked the lock just to get a quick smell of the lingering smoke of lavender candles that her mother made in attempt to ease her father's stress. But never before had she walked so far inside. On summer afternoons, she would watch from the stables as Cosulus stood behind the tall glass window with a goblet of wine in his hand and stretch after a long day of work. The majority of the time, her father kept the deep red curtains drawn, but today, a tiny sliver of light leaked into the room and broke the darkness. Cosulus moved into the room first, peeling the book from Siila's hand. Siila hardly noticed. She was far to busy examining the maps that her father had sprawled out along the walls. The Bosmer recognized her father's trading routes marked along a map of Cyrodiil. Red pins protruded from the Waterfront, Leyawiin, and Anvil, even some cities in the nearby provinces of Hammerfell, Valenwood, and Elsweyr. Red lines followed Lake Rumare into the Niben and eventually pooled out into the Topal bay. Another line extended from a pin in Valenwood to the Strid river and Abecean sea. Siila stepped slowly across the waxy wooden floor until she reached the single window of the study. She peered over her shoulder to see Silus scouring the shelves that wrapped around the perimeter of the room. She furrowed her brows, wondering what it was that Silus was so zealously searching for. Resting upon a nearby chushioned armchair was a tightly curled scroll. Peeling away at just a small corner, Siila recognized it as a map of Tamriel. Plopping herself down in the chair, she unraveled the scroll to it's full length, revealing the full extension of her father's company.

Never before had she realized that the Marcelius Trading Company spanned over so much distance. She hardly understood the family business and unlike Silus, she had no intention of doing so. To her knowledge, her family's business was the largest in Cyrodiil after buying out the Imperial Trading Company. Also to her knowledge, the Valcciori Trading Company had fallen on hard times after the death of Remellian Valcciori, Silus's father. The Valcciori's moved their headquarters to High Rock when Remellian's brother took over. Only recently had their company regained enough strength that Silus's mother felt comfortable returning to Cyrodiil. Siila cleared her throat and returned her attention to the map in her hands. The red and blue lines throughout the oceans of Tamriel branched out like veins and arteries, stopping at the ports of each province like a clot before flowing out into the cities across land.

Business seemed like a pain. Siila realized that everything she owned was possible thanks her father's grueling work but she had also noticed that his hair had been greying at a much faster rate recently. As she rolled up the map and gazed over to the endless piles on her father's desk, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Who in their right mind would choose to slaver over paperwork and statements for a living? She turned her attention to Silus, who was trying desperately to reach for a book without moving the library ladder. What a fool, she thought to herself, for she knew all his dreams and ambitions existed as the image of her father; a happy and wealthy business man.

Silus dropped from the ladder in defeat. He rested several books on Siila's lap

"What do you suppose you are doing with those?" she asked, wriggling a bit in her seat.

"I'm going to read them. Perhaps I'll learn a few things about running a business." Silus had returned to his search. Siila rolled her eyes as she picked the first book up; "The Buying Game."

Siila began to feel uncomfortable as Silus picked through the bookshelves. Why had he been so insistent on breaking into her father's study. This room held private things she doubted her mother fully knew about and she had just let a stranger rummage through the secrets. A chill of paranoia rushed through her young body as dark and horrid thoughts entered her mind. She recalled a specific day when Nameeka was giving her another lecture on the dangers of Silus and his dashing smile.

_"That boy, it's the green eyes, isn't! Siila you need to watch yourself around men like that. They're only after one thing, one!"_

_Siila, like normal, rolled her eyes and continued working on restringing her bow. _

_"Are you listening to me?"_

_"And what one thing are they after, Nameeka?"_

_"Well, I don't know. But I've heard Claudette speaking with the other cooks in the kitchen. You can't argue with a woman of her age. She must have been around."_

_Siila looked up from her bow in confusion. What one thing? She'd make it a point to ask Silus later, regardless of what Nameeka said. _

_"Just trust me Siila. Weren't the Valcciori's rivals or something? It only makes sense that he's using you for business secrets."_

_"I don't know any secrets! And the Valcciori's were actually partners at one point."_

_"Silla just blah blah. Blah blah Silus bad blah blah."_

Siila snapped back to her present situation. From what she understood, right now there was a rival spy in the heart of her family's business. She watched as Silus's eyes widen as he flipped over a note on her father's desk. Of course! He's here to steal information! Her ears perked, tingling in instinctual rage as he unfolded the letter...

"Stendarr's balls! What in bloody Oblivion are you doing." It was hardly a struggle for Silus to pry the elf's tiny hands from his throat. It was more than a little difficult, however, to keep the elf from climbing back onto his chest. Her nails were quite sharp indeed.

"You used me!" Siila cried, pounding her fists into the Imperial's chest. "You're stealing our secrets. I hate you!"

"Stop, Siila Stop!"

The sound of a door slam brought silence to both of their lips. Footsteps echoed down the hall outside of the study. Siila rolled off of Silus and scurried underneath the desk while Silus followed behind. The tiny elf tried to push him away, telling him that if he gets caught, he deserves it before the imperial pressed his finger to her lips. Siila stiffened under Silus's looming frame. She heard her mother call for her and eventually return to the laboratory at the opposite end of the hall.

Siila shoved Silus out from beneath the desk and pinned him beneath her. "Explain yourself, traitor, or shall the Divines have mercy on-"

"Siila , just stop." Silus lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. Pressing up on his arms, he brought himself to seated position as Siila straddled his legs. "I'm not stealing secrets." He drew the note from the seam of his pants and held it out to her. She carefully unfolded the note and began reading. "I'm just trying to find out about my father."

Siila read the note. Her father spoke of a band of raiders that had been robbing caravans making their way into Elsweyr. There was nothing particularly odd about it until Siila read the date. It was addressed to Remellian nearly 21 years ago but kept neatly pressed between the pages of a book.

"What book did you find this in?" she asked, bringing the note to her nose.

Silus retrieved the book from the desk. Again, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a copy of a popular book,_ A Dance in Fire, _though from the plain cover, she couldn't tell what volume. Upon leafing through the curling pages, several other papers fell out. Silus was the first to reach for them. Many were notes, some were smaller pages with torn edges on one side. Siila examined the yellow pages more closely and discovered they had an uncanny resemblance to the pages of her fathers journal. A bitter taste filled her mouth as she began reading.

_Loredas, 18th of Morningstar, 4E 178_

_Oh harborer of secrets, I write to you in great pain. Remellian and I have decided it would be unwise to continue to hide the Talos-worshiping refugees. He came to me several days ago, telling me how his wife, Itavia, had discovered that their chef was a spy for the Thalmor. He said they have too much to lose and that their secret worship is not worth being discovered by the Thalmor. He told me he returned his amulet, the one we shared identical copies, the one that had been in his family since Talos's death in the 3rdE. It now rests on the to the shrine beneath our houses, the secret passage to the hope we once shared. And the worst part, I know I must do the same. I must lock it away as Remellian has, before I am exposed. But the amulet, I cannot bring myself to leave it. I will find away to keep it. It is a piece of me. Talos is a piece of me._

Siila clutched the paper to her chest before Silus could see the trembling of her hands, but from the look of horror on his face as she watched him read the note he held, she knew he had discovered the same thing.

"I cannot- my father would not. This is a lie. Your father forged it. This is why our business had been failing!" Siila watched with terror plastered on her face as Silus's face reddened. His shoulders were visibly shaking by the tie he gathered up the notes and shoved them back into the book.

"How dare you! You're father is as guilty as mine! They were Talos worshipers, admit it!" Silus stood to leave without responding, chewing his lower lip until a trickle of blood dribbled down to his chin. "I can show you."


	8. Safety

**Chapter 8: Safety**

Silus leaned against Siila's bedroom door with his hands clenched into large white fists, internally cursing his ambivalence toward the thought on whether to run home or not. Even with the door closed, he could hear the Bosmer scampering across the room and knocking objects to the floor. A large crash followed by the shattering of glass broke the Imperials thoughts before Siila popped her head out the door crack.

"Still here?" She asked, tucking a flash of bronze into her shirt.

"What is that?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Siila paused in front of the narrow closet in the depths of the basement. Behind the decaying wooden doors in front of her lay what she now believed was a shrine to Talos, a secret her family had been hiding for who knows how long. Behind her stood Silus, who spoke no word as they made their way through the basement. The only noise that accompanied them was the quite patter of footsteps and the loud and rapid exhales that Silus released through his nostrils. Siila pulled on the handle to reveal only a tiny crack, holding her breath as several brooms fell against the inside of the door. She peered over at Silus, attempting to asome words from him, but the Imperial simply stared straight over Siila's head. Quickly, she opened the closet door and slipped inside as Silus held the door open to follow behind.

The darkness of the tunnel was suffocating. Cold stone pressed against the Bosmer's exposed arms. Silus grunted into the darkness, choking slightly on the overpoweringly moist air. Siila raised her hand and cast an orb of candle light to break the engulfing grip of black emptiness around her throat. It wasn't until the light showered over her that she realized the time she spent crawling around dark passageways had been reduced to practically zero. Now a days, she spent most of her time outdoors. Even when she hunted under the cover of nightfall, she was always joined by streams of silver light from the twin moons. Upon recognizing the musty smell of mysterious mold crowing in the crevices along the walls, Siila's memories of the first travel through the narrow walls resurfaced. She took no extra time navigating her way down the tunnel, unlike Silus, who took every step with caution as he examined the unknown fungus growing in cracks along the floor. After spending so much time in the vastness of the west weald, Siila had taken a strong disliking to the confinement of stone walls.

Siila watched as a string of sweat traveled down Silus's rosy cheeks. She waited anxiously next to the thick wooden door as Silus's shaky hand reached out to grasp the weathered handle. Siila's candlelight, although greatly improved since her last expedition three years ago, had a radius not quite wide enough to extend to the center of the room. She heard Silus's dry swallow travel down his throat, ending in a desperate exhale through his mouth.

"Siila," he choked out. "I-I can't see anything."

Siila took hold of Silus's hand. It was clammy, icy, and practically radiating the fear coursing through him. She moved forward quickly, faster than the Imperial that shuffled behind and stumbled over his own steps. Silus dropped his mouth as his eyes met the giant statue of Tiber Septim that towered over him. Siila felt his hand go limp in her grip and for a second, she had to look up to make sure he was still breathing. He stood in silence, his green eyes flickering over the dust covered sculpture and pink eyelids fluttering closed to blink away in disbelief. Dropping to his knees, he crawled forward to the small dagger-shaped shrine at the foot of the statue.

"But why?" he whispered, more to himself than to Siila. His raspy voice was barely audible.

Siila knelt beside him. She pressed her hand into his stringy black hair and although he flinched at first, he didn't object as she dragged her fingers to the nape of his neck. She rested her hand on his shoulder and reached into her shirt to remove one of the brass medallions from around her neck. After pressing it into his hands, she leaned over to one of the steps beneath the statue and lit the wick of a candle with a small flame from her fingertips. Silus held the amulet and let the chain dangle down his arm. It resembled the small shrine beneath the statue. Unlike Siila when she found the item 3 years ago, Silus new exactly what the object was; an amulet of Talos.

After carefully reading the different contortions of Silus's face, Siila maneuvered herself until she sat on the stone steps in front of her friend. She grabbed his free hand and brought the second amulet out of it's hiding place within her shirt. "My family has one too."

However, the two amulets differed greatly from one another. On the back, the Marcellius name was still proudly etched. The amulet that Siila wore around her neck was gold, rather than brass colored. The grooves that were once delicately engraved along the dagger-like piece must have been filled in with a metal alloy. Diamonds decorated its center, altering the old and heroic appearance to one of luxury. Now that Siila learned what her necklace represented, she felt confident in the assumptions that her father had it altered to mask its true meaning.

"How do you know? How do you know this is mine?" Silus's voice wavered.

Siila turned the amulet over to reveal an engraving on the back. Much of it consisted of erratic lines, desperately attempting to erase evidence of the family it belonged to. Despite the scratches that marred the amulet, Silus could make out a "V". V for Valcciori.

Silus traced the engraving with his finger. Siila watched as his thumb slid over the lines with increased pressure as though he too, was trying to remove his own name.

"and you knew this was here all along?" His hair tumbled about his face. Silus had yet to meet her face.

"No, I found out several years ago. I-I didn't know what it was."

"How could you not know? Have you been living under a rock?" His tone was harsh, frustrated, even annoyed.

The Bosmer felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. It was true that she had no clue what the statue meant. Even when Nameeka hinted at its origin, she couldn't possibly find reason in it. Until now, Siila was never quite aware of her ignorance toward worldly matters. Her parents tried very hard to speak of the Thalmor in a good light and whenever a whisper of Talos drifted in from under the doors, they made sure to keep things hush hush.

Gripping the chain of the amulet, Silus stood to his feet. "I suppose that is the entrance to my house then?" He pointed to the unopened door that was barely visible from across the room.

"Yes, but it's locked. A ladder will take us out to the well."

And with that reply, Silus took the lead, quickening his pace until the secret room was far in the darkness behind him.

* * *

The journey back into the west weald left Siila feeling less than comfortable in more ways than one. Looking back down into the darkness, she could assess just how much the well had decayed since her last climb up. The stone bricks at the mouth of the well had been slowly crumbling in, sending large slabs clanging against the wall until they reached the bottom. Siila felt her heart dropped to her stomach more than once during the rickety escape. She heard Silus gasp from above her multiple times, leaving her to cling tightly to the splintered wood while the ladder shook under her feet. Thick vines spilled down the well like curtains and snuck in between the wood of the ladder, prying it away from the nails that held it to the wall. At one point, Siila considered scaling the vines, as they seemed to be much more stable than the ladder she trusted her life to.

Siila stared into the canopy of the trees that surrounded the small clearing as Silus paced back and forth along the edges of the well. She couldn't quite decide whether the sun was just now reaching it's zenith, or if noon had passed and it was already descending. Her long Bosmer ears perked when she no longer heard the squish of Silus's feet against the moist soil. Seatng herself against a nearby rock, she watched intently as Silus stood still, gazing down the well. In a swift and forceful motion, he chucked his amulet down into its depths and proceeded to kick at the loose bricks. Siila didn't dare say a word. She hardly blinked as she watched her friend repeatedly shove his body against the well in a grunting fury. The beams above the opening collapsed along with the majority of the structure until only loose dirt and several stray bricks remained.

Siila tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around her knees. Silus was face down in the grass with his legs tucked under his chest. He stretched his arms out in front of him and tugged at the grass in defeat. She watched as his back rose and fell with his slow and deep breaths before he lifted his neck to gaze in front of him. His face was flushed, red cheeks and eyes that strained from struggle to hold back tears.

"No one can know." He said without turning to face the elf.

"Silus?"

"I'm going to fill this well." He stood to his feet.

Siila tried not to stare but the shaking of his knees wouldn't allow her to look away. His steps were achingly slow, each step wad a struggle to take as though his legs were in physical pain. She kept her distance as she followed behind, nervously twisting at strands of peach hair.

Why did the news of her family's secrets not affect her like they did Silus? She was well aware of the consequences. The memory of one trip to the imperial city was still fresh in her mind. She had just peeked out of the carriage window as she passed along the road leading to the great bridge before the city when she rows of gallows, each occupied by an outspoken rebel. There was a great commotion in the city regarding the punishment and its artless display. Some said the rebels were heroes to be revered. Many wrote them off as fools. Regardless, the Legion put their foot down stating that the demonstration was unnecessary and excessively cruel. But the Thalmor already knew they didn't _need_ to make any example, they simply chose to.

The memory brought with it a wave of fear into Siila's heart. She scurried to catch up to Silus, who was slowly coming out of his own shock. Both Marcelius and Valcciori families had every right to be afraid. Their businesses were located in the heart of the empire. Not a trade they made went unnoticed by Thalmor supervisors. In order to keep their businesses during the Great War, Cosulus and Remellian pledged their allegiance to the Aldmeri Dominion and supported them throughout their surge through Cyrodiil, even housing high ranking officials within their homes. If ever their Talos worship was to be found out...

"Listen to me, Siila." Silus shook the elf by her shoulders, breaking her train of thought. He bent over slightly so that they could be at eye level with one another. "Do you know what this means?"

After an attempted swallow, Siila realized that her mouth had gone dry. She met the Imperial's eyes and nodded her head. The redness of his sclera's confirmed her suspicions that he had been crying through the tunnel to the well exit. She knew what it meant now.

"Then you know why we must never speak of this day and what lies underneath these grounds." Again, Siila nodded.

Silus smiled, though Siila could clearly see the agony in his eyes. "Good."

Brushing her hair out of the way, Silus pressed his lips to the elf's forehead and with a shaky hand, he pulled her toward him until their foreheads met. Holding her breath, Siila fluttered her eyelids open. She could see Silus's eyes twitching beneath the pink eyelids, lined by thick glossy lashes. She felt his breath on her face, adding to the already warm sensation that tingled along the capillaries in her cheeks. Her hand its way to his and squeezed it tightly.

"It's going to be fine." she whispered.

Silus nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He smiled again, the same fictitious smile that Siila knew he wanted her to see. Straightening himself to full height, Silus headed through the trees toward the Marcellius estate with the tiny Bosmer's hand held tightly in his own.


End file.
